About this dataset

Ozone is a gas made out of oxygen. The oxygen that we breathe is two oxygen atoms joined together. Ozone is three oxygen atoms joined together.

Near the ground, human activity such as burning coal or gasoline creates ozone. High amounts of ozone at ground level harm plant life and damages peoples’ lungs.

High in Earth’s atmosphere (miles above the surface), ozone forms from natural processes. There, ozone is good for life on Earth because it shields us from ultraviolet sunlight that causes sunburns, skin cancer, and damage to the eyes.

So while humans want to limit ozone near the ground where we might breathe it, we want a healthy layer of ozone high in the atmosphere to help protect life on our planet.